Life-saving apparatus for street-car platforms



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A W. H. RODGERS. LIEE SAYING APPARATUS PoR STREET SAR PLATFORMS.

PIO-.532,339. Y Patented Jan. 8,1895.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

W'ILLIAM H.VRODGERS, OF BROOKLYN, YORK.

LIFE-SAVING APPARATUS FOR-STREET-CAR PLATFORMS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 532,339, dated January 8, 1 89 5 Application tiled August 6, 1894.. Serial No. 519,595- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern: y

Beit known that I, WILLIAM l-I. RoDGnEs,

tion. v

My invention relates to a life saving apparatus' for street-car platforms in which a cradle provided with supporting arms is attached to the platform of a car, the cradle when in normal position being held slightly above the tracks and being provided with anged carrying-wheels and a safety roller, the apparatus being so adjusted to the car platform thatupon striking an obstacle it will ldrop down' upon the tracks, the iianged-carrying-wheels engaging with the tracks and the safety roller being pushed inward into contact with the peripheries of the carrying wheels, which thereby impart to the safety roller a revolu tion in direction opposite to the carryingwheels and adapted to turn or throw the obsecond, a life saving apparatus for streetcar platforms which shall actv automatically;

third, a life saving apparatus for street-carplatforms which when not in use occupies small space; fourth, a life saving apparatus for street-car platforms which shall be simple in construction and cheap in manufacture.`

y I accomplish these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings in` which similar letters are used to designate similar parts throughout.

rFigure 1 is a side View of my life saving apparatus'for street-car platforms. p a plan view of my life saving apparatus for street-car platforms. Fig. 3 is a detail view of the safety-roller showing it in contact with the peripheries of the carrying-Wheels and the direction of its revolution.

My life saving apparatus for street-car platforms is provided with plates, A A, each plate, A, having a slot, B, and being attachable to the side of the car by a bolt, C, the plates, A A, being arranged to slide backward and for- Fig. 2 isl Vward upon the bolts, C O, being held in adesired position by pressure cams, D D.

yPivoted upon each of the plates, A A, is a ratch-wheel, E, having a pawl, F. Pivoted upon the same shafts as the ratchet wheels, E E, and acting in unison therewith are supporting arms, G G. At the inner or car ends of each ofthe supporting arms, G G, a spiral counterbalancing spring, H, is attached, the lower portion of each counterbalancing spring, H, being fastened tothe plate, A, and arranged to exert a downward pull upon the supporting arm, G, holding each arm, G, in a lifted'position, Fig. 1.

kUponthe outer portions of the supporting arms, G G, are carrying-wheels, I I, the carrying-wheels, I I, being fixedly attached to the same shaft and revolving therewith, the

shaft being pivoted upon the supporting arms, G G. The carrying-wheels, I I, are flanged to engage with the car tracks'. A safety-roller, J, also pivoted upon each of the supporting arms, G G, is placed at the extreme outer ends of the supporting arms,-which are provided ywith slots, K K, to receive the pinions of the safetyroller. The pinions of the safetyroller, J, revolve in sliding chocks, lo k', set 'in the slots, K K. 4'

Spiral springs, 7c lc, exerting an outward pressure, are placed in the slots,'K K, one end of each of the springs, 7c k, resting against the sliding chock, k', and the other end against the innermost end of the slot, K. The springs, k la, are so adjusted that whenin normal position they will hold the safety-roller, J, at the outermost ends of the slots, K K, Fig. l. When in normal position the safety roller, J, is raised above the tracks ljust enough not to let an obstacle pass under it, but rather to be received upon the upper surface of the safety-roller. Upon striking an object it is lowered Iso that it just clears the track.

A net-work cradle, M, is suitably attached to the supporting arms, G G, the cradle, M, and arms, G G, being arranged to turn or fold up at the points L L. y

The operation of my life saving apparatus for street-car platforms is as follows: The apparatus being in its normal position, Fig. 1, the carrying-wheels, I I, being raised from the, tracks by the tension of the counterbalp ancin g springs H H, the safety-roller, J, strikes an obstacle the resistance of which overcomes the tension of the counterbalancing springs, H H, and causes the supporting-arms, G G, to drop until the flanges of the carrying-wheels, I I, engage with the tracks. The dropping of the supporting arms, G G, also causes the ratchet wheels,E E, te revolve, the pawls, F F, thereof taking up one or more cogs thusholding the carrying-Wheels, I I, firmly down upon the tracks, outline Fig. 1. The resistance of the obstacle at the same time forces ythe sliding safety-roller, J, a revolution from left to right,

adapted to turn or throw the obstacle up on the cradle, M, out of danger, Figs. 1 and 3.

For convenience when not in use the cradle, M, may beturned upward out of the way by means of the joints L L, in the supporting arms, G G, the pressure of the cams, D D,

upon the bolts, C C, being relieved and the plates, A A, by means of the slots, B B, being pushed inward.

Having fully described my invention, what I claim, and desire to protect by Letters Pat- 1. A life saving apparatus Afor street-car platforms composed of plates adjustably attached to the sides of a car, ratch-wheels,hav ing pawls, pivoted upon said plates, supporting arms pivoted upon the same aXles as said ratchet wheels, counterbalancing springs atA tached to said plates and to said supporting arms, carrying-wheels pivoted upon the supporting arms, asafety-roller also pivoted upon the supporting arms and arranged to be brought in contact with the peripheries of the carrying-wheels, and a cradle attached to said supporting arms, all substantially vas herein described and set forth. y

2. The combination of the plates attachable to the sides of a car, the ratchetwheels, having the pawls, pivoted upon said plates, the supporting arms pivotedvupon the same axles as said ratchet Wheels and having at their outer4 ends the slots, the counterbalancing springs attached to said plates and to the inner ends of said supporting arms, the iianged carrying-wheels pivoted upon said supporting arms, the safety-roller pivoted in said slots upon the outer ends of the supporting arms and arranged to be brought in contact with the peripheries of the Iianged carrying- Wheels, and the cradle attached to the supporting arms, all substantially as herein de scribed and set forth.

3. The combination of the plates having the slots and attachable to the sides of a car by the bolts and pressure cams, the `ratchet Wheels pivoted upon said plates and having the pawls, the supporting arms pivoted upon the same axles as said ratchetwheels and having at their outer ends the slots, the counterbalancing springs attached to said plates and to the inner ends of said supporting arms, the flanged carrying-Wheels pivoted upon the, supporting arms, the safety-roller revolving upon chocks arranged to slide in the slots in the outer ends of the supporting arms, the springs in said slots in the supporting arms to restrain said sliding chocks in their action, and the cradle attached to the supporting arms, all substantially as herein described and set forth. i

4t. Thev combination of the plates having the slots and attachable to the sides of a car by the bolts and pressure cams, the ratchet Wheels 'pivoted upon said plates and having the pawls,

the jointed supporting arms pivoted upon the same axles as said ratch-wheels and having at their outer ends the slots, ythe counterbalancing springs attached to said plates 'and to the inner ends of said supporting arms, the flan ged carrying-wheels pivoted upon the supporting arms, the safety-roller revolving upon ch-ocks arranged to slide in the slots in the outer ends of the supporting arms, the springs in said slots in the supporting arms to restrain said sliding chocks in their action,and the jointed cradle attached to the supporting arms, all substantially as herein described and set forth.

5. The combination, with the plates, the ratchet wheels and pawls, the supporting arms, the counterbalancing springs, and the cradle substantially as described, of the flanged carrying-.wheels pivoted upon the sup-V porting arms and the safety-roller also piv oted upon said supporting arms, said safety- IOO roller being arranged to be brought in contact y with the peripheri-es of the carrying-Wheels so as to'impa'rt to the safety-roller a revolution in direction opposite from the revolution of the carrying-wheels, all substantially as herein described and as and for the purposes set forth.

WILLIAM H. RoDGERs. Witnesses:

DENNIS F. DRIsooLL, FRANK H. HYATT.

IICI 

